


Caffeine and Cobwebs

by orphan_account



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, F/M, Feelings, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Gender-Neutral Apprentice (The Arcana), I amuse myself, Idiots in Love, M/M, Other, Pining, Slow Burn, clueless idiots, haha get it??, probably, this has been plaguing my mind for weeks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24695023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Honestly, all you really want in life is to get a normal sleep schedule, make money without doing anything, and make sure your cat doesn't eat anything she's not supposed to. Each of these things seem very impossible, and only time will expose whether one Julian Devorak will make them easier or far more difficult than ever before.Essentially, an urban fantasy AU intended to supply me with the slow burn and gradual realization I want but have already ingested the entirety of.
Relationships: Apprentice/Julian Devorak, Asra/Muriel (The Arcana), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Portia Devorak/Nadia
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	Caffeine and Cobwebs

**Author's Note:**

> hi this is. the product of quarantine and being desperate for affection but having a need for. the pining??? just. pining i needed it so this happened i am so sorry. also wanna be upfront if you are looking for smut down the line you will not find it here, apologies but i am a weenie. hope you're doing ok and enjoy :)

Grumbling slightly as you closed the email tab on your phone, you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at your latest client’s request. Yes, you were obviously very good at your job, no, this did not mean you were some kind of boundless god capable of literally anything. Had you explained to Lucinda you were not capable of deaging her dog? Yes. Several times. Had she listened? Of course not. It certainly didn’t help that you were running on four hours of sleep and far too much coffee for any sane person to contain. Regardless, you were happy to be heading home after tending to your shop without Asra’s assistance for so long and looking forward to sleeping in as late as you wanted on your day off tomorrow. 

As you reached the landing for the third floor of your building, you withdrew the keys to your apartment, letting yourself in and unbelievably quickly sinking onto your plush armchair and letting your aching body relax. A small shape landing in your lap followed by the gentle nuzzling of a furry head against your face jolted you from your moment of reprieve, as small green eyes stared back at yours. 

“Well hello to you too, Clementine, come to greet me or are you just hungry?” 

A pleading meow answered that question, and shaking your head you scooped your cat up and headed towards the kitchen to make the both of you some dinner. It was almost ten at night after all, and loathe though you might be to admit it food was a necessity for your continued survival, no matter how nice it would be to ignore your bodily functions and collapse in your chair. 

You had leftovers from your (wonderful, amazing, too-good-for-this-world, gorgeous) neighbor Portia, who frequently ‘accidentally’ overcooked and brought you food, insisting that otherwise you would forget to eat. Realistically, she was right. Not that your pride would ever admit that to her, but you still always smiled and thanked her. To be fair, you had done some work for her a few months back to make sure her plants didn’t perish while she was out of town, and now the two of you had a fond, if occasionally awkward friendship. 

Your pasta heating in the microwave, you tended to Clementine’s needy glances towards her food dish, filling it up while shaking your head at her ridiculousness. Leaning against the counter, you could feel the ache in your bones throb once more, indicating just how desperately you needed this day off. Asra had promised he would be back in town tonight, and that meant you were handing work tomorrow off to him. It was only fair, he had left you alone for a week, he could handle a day on his own. Probably. Shaking your head you claimed your dinner before settling into your chair, ready to eat and get the hell to bed. 

You managed to get a couple bites down before your phone began rapidly vibrating. Caller ID showed your wonderful, amazing best friend who obviously was just calling to tell you he was safely back in town. Picking up the call, the two of you exchanged pleasantries and your hopes of a nice, relaxing day tomorrow were quickly dashed. 

“So… this trip is going to take a little longer than I thought. I’m so sorry, I swear I’ll be back by no later than Tuesday.” 

“Asra,” you groaned, rubbing your forehead, “please just. Take care of yourself, okay? I’ll be fine.” His gentle ‘mhmm’ sounded doubtful, but he didn’t fight you on it. 

“Everything is fine, things just are getting a little drawn out. If I take you out to that restaurant you like will you forgive me?” 

“Lunch and two days off. Otherwise no forgiveness for you.” 

“Then it’s a deal,” Asra laughed, “I’ll let you go, you’ve got another early day tomorrow.” 

“Say hi to Faust for me alright? Goodnight, see you soon.” 

Hanging up the phone you sat back in your seat, pasta now mostly cold. So much for that day off. 

* * *

You got little sleep that night, nightmares making their way into your unconscious mind once more and leading to your deciding that perhaps it would be better to just get on with your day rather than stare at the glowing stars on your ceiling. Glancing at your clock and noting the fact that you had awoken once more at four in the morning, you pulled yourself out of bed, sore limbs protesting loudly. Stretching, you ran a hand through your hair before going about your regular morning routine. 

Stepping out of the shower, you dressed and began the brewing process on your coffee, idly going through emails from clients and a few missed messages from Nadia, who was insisting you get together with her soon. She had started seeing someone a while back, and wanted the three of you to get together so the two of you could meet. You made a mental note to tell her yes, but having been victim to the ‘why the hell are you awake at four in the morning’ line of questioning before you knew better than to write back now. 

Coffee in hand and no blatantly panicked messages from your friends or clients, you made your way towards your altar to do some basic caretaking. While you weren’t currently working with any major deities, it was always a good habit to look over the space and make sure everything was properly situated, not to mention the positive effect it had on your mental health. You could feel the relief at being in the space, enjoying it while it lasted. Your altar was as eclectic as it got, much like your practice, with a variety of candles, crystals, and other such items carefully laid out on the surface. 

Humming and going through your cleansing exercises, you were able to ignore the remnants of the nightmares gripping the corners of your mind, finding the sense of balance you needed to be a productive member of society and actually do your job. Withdrawing from your altar, you filled Clementine’s dish, giving her an ear scritch before filling your to-go cup with as much coffee as you could cram into it and heading out the door, down the stairs, and to your shop.

The subway was, fortunately for you, quiet and empty of any suspicious characters, something which made you breathe a small sigh of relief. Earbuds in and in your chosen seat, the commute went by smoothly and you soon arrived at Talismans and Tea, its velvety curtains soon opened by you and faint light streaming into the dimly lit area. Checking over stock, lighting candles, and dusting off glass cabinets occupied the little time you had before your first customer popped in. And then quickly popped out. Well, you couldn’t win them all over. 

The next few hours went by smoothly, with you doing a few private readings (a woman looking to see if a promotion were in the cards, a man seeking to reconnect with his daughter) and scrying sessions (an old lady looking for a misplaced ring, a teenager who had lost track of their mother’s brooch) and tending to the front of the store when not occupied with such activity. Fortunately these one-on-one sessions provided just as much, if not more income than selling items straight out of the store, and it was always nice to keep your skills on their toes. 

Responding to Nadia and informing her that you would be happy to meet with her whenever she was next free, so long as it wasn’t during your work hours, you didn’t even deign to lift your head to reprimand whoever was currently in your shop. 

“If you’re going to shoplift at least do a better job of it, I’m barely paying attention and I noticed.” To be fair, your wards had alerted you to the theft, but your reaction was far more calm than they deserved. “Also, if you’re shoplifting at least do it from a chain? I’m not made of money.” 

Finally glancing up, your eyes landed on a gangly looking fellow with auburn hair and… an eyepatch? Raising an eyebrow, you waited for their reaction, doing your best to look as unimpressed as you felt. They cleared their throat, gesturing broadly as they approached you. 

“I have no clue what you’re talking about─I am obviously an honest, paying patron of your fine establishment, and your claims are unfounded.” 

“Yes, of course, please excuse me. I can’t _force_ a search of your bag, for legal reasons, but I would like to politely remind you that this is a magic shop. Believe it or not we have wards up to alert us to exactly this circumstance, so you, my friend, are busted.” Sputtering indignantly, they opened and closed their mouth several times before finally sighing. 

“Fine fine, yes I admit it. Is is still shoplifting if I was going to come back and pay later?” 

“Yes. Yes it is. Unless you were to explain to me what was happening that is very clearly shoplifting as you would be taking an item from my store without my knowledge. Also, how do I know you wouldn’t just steal away into the night never to return?” 

“Excuse you, I am a man of my word, and I swear to you no such thing would have occurred.” 

“Sir, please just empty your bag so I don’t have to involve outside forces.” With an overly dramatic sigh, the man withdrew a box of tea from deep within his bag, holding it out to you with a slight scowl. 

“Happy?” With a brief scan of the wards, you were able to determine this was the only unpurchased item in his possession. 

“Very. Now, will you be purchasing the tea or is this where we will say farewell?” 

“I suppose I might as well…” you rolled your eyes at his indifferent tone, ringing him up for a grand total of nine dollars including tax. It was expensive tea, you would give it that, but Asra had always had good taste when it came to the drink so you tried not to question his judgement on this particular topic. 

“Anything else I can do for you today?” You asked, more out of politeness than any desire to really do anything else for this attempted shoplifter who you were frankly being _way_ too lenient with. But you were tired, and honestly he looked pretty tired too, so you just tried to let it go. 

“Actually,” he started, shifting uncomfortably, “do you know when your coworker Asra will be back?” 

“Afraid I can’t answer that one for you, nor confirm that any such person works here. Why do you ask?” He blushed, face turning a deep scarlet. 

“He well, left something at my place that I wanted to make sure got back to him.” Not meeting your eyes, the man drew a glittering scarf out of his bag, which you recognized as your friend’s. 

_Godsdamnit, Asra._

You nodded resolutely, letting out a sigh. 

“I’ll see it gets to him, and maybe I’ll be nice and leave out the shoplifting bit too.” You almost enjoyed the panicked expression that raced across his face. 

“Oh gods please don’t. That would,” you laughed, and his eye narrowed as he realized how easily you had strung him along, “...that was rude. Horrible customer service here, honestly.” 

Shaking your head, you easily replied, “I feel like a broken record, but this is coming from you, the man who just tried to shoplift from my store. You really do not have grounds to talk back here.” 

He shook his head, turning on his heel and marching out of the shop. 

“I don’t have to take this kind of mistreatment, goodbye and good riddance!” 

You snorted, rolling your eyes at this stranger and his antics. Looking down, you realized the poor man had forgotten his tea, and you pretended not to see his figure pacing outside your storefront a few times before dashing in and out to claim it as fast as possible. 

You grinned as you closed up shop that day, looking forward to dishing all about today’s strange encounter with Nadia the next time you both spoke. 

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this instead of sleeping and am relying on sleep deprived me's lack of self control to actually post it, so please let me know if you noticed any typos/mistakes or have any feedback. hope you had a good time, and are ready and willing to buckle in for some feelings and nerds falling for each other. for now stay safe and healthy. and i wish you all the best.


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